


It's December 10th

by plantcaretaker



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, mentions of a not fun childhood oops, props to whoever gets the reference, seungcheol and jeonghan's sister is mentioned, there is swearing but when is there not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 02:10:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17133059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantcaretaker/pseuds/plantcaretaker
Summary: svtwriters twitter gc secret santa fic exchange for annie!Prompt:Person A is decorating the tree, person B has to lift them to reach the top of the tree because A is too short.





	It's December 10th

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peachgloss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachgloss/gifts).



> why won't ao3 let me use italics smh
> 
> i don't know how the childhood angst got in here i swear

“We should’ve bought a shorter tree,” Jihoon mumbled from the front seat, watching Jeonghan try to shove it further in the car with no luck.

“What’s the point,” Jeonghan huffed. “Of having. An 8-foot ceiling. If you don’t get. A tall. Tree!” He gave one last shove and Jihoon heard him slump. “Is it too late to ask the guy to tie it to the roof?”

Jihoon sighed. “Take the tree out of the car and I’ll put it on the roof.”

Jeonghan giggled. “How are you going to get it up there?”

Jihoon responded by rolling down the window and climbing through it to swing himself up onto the roof of the car. “Hand me the tree.”

“Put the tree in the car,” Jeonghan muttered. “Take the tree out. Put it on the roof.”

“Hey,” Jihoon snapped. “You’re the one who turned down the guy’s help.”

“I thought it would fit!” 

“That was your first mistake. Okay, pass it up.” Jihoon was kneeling on the roof with his arms outstretched in wait. 

“Jihoonie.” Jeonghan was practically falling over trying to hold up the tree. “I don’t think either of us is strong enough for this.” 

Jihoon snorted and grabbed at the top of the tree. “Speak for yourself wimp.”

“You’re going to get sap on your gloves,” Jeonghan warned. 

“There’s already sap on my gloves. Are you going to help or not?”

Jeonghan groaned and started lifting from below. “Next time we’re asking Cheollie for help.”

“Next time,” Jihoon heaved. “We’re getting a smaller tree. Or a bigger car.”

“Doesn’t Cheol have a truck? Please don’t fall,” Jeonghan added as Jihoon teetered with the tree. 

“I genuinely don’t think he’d let us use it.” The tree was safely on the roof, tiny boyfriend safely sitting next to it with a flush. “... Do we have rope?”

“Shit.”

“Not it,” Jihoon rushed to put his finger to his nose. 

“Not fair!” Jeonghan accused. 

“You’re the one who turned down the guy’s help!” Jihoon stuck out his tongue. “Besides, I have to keep George safe on the roof.”

“You can’t name the tree George.”

“Why not?”

“Because you name everything George.” Jeonghan rolled his eyes. 

“...And?”

“Pick a new name!”

Jihoon crossed his arms, petulant. “No!”

“Pick a new name or you can sit up there with George while I drive home.”

“First off, that’s illegal in like three different ways. Second, you called it George so now the name has to stick. Third, you still have to go get rope from the guy,” Jihoon counted off his fingers. 

Jeonghan contemplated. “If I go back and get rope for the tree will you change the name?”

“Fine. Just hurry, it's fucking freezing and I want cocoa.” 

When Jeonghan returned with rope and a scowl, Jihoon proudly announced: “Totoro!”

Jeonghan smiled. “Totoro? Seriously?” He handed the rope to his boyfriend.

“Why not?” Jihoon started unraveling the rope. “Roll down the windows on both sides, would you?” As Jeonghan followed his instructions, he explained: “He’s tall, fluffy, and is going to bring joy into our otherwise mediocre life.”

“Who says our lives are mediocre?” Jeonghan objected from the car. 

Jihoon popped his head down. “We’re college students, Jeonghan. Pass this through and hand it to me on the other side.”

10 minutes later, Totoro the tree was securely tied to the roof of their (Jeonghan’s really) old, shitty, 2000 Explorer. Both boys were slightly sappy, very piney, and mostly proud. 

“I never should have doubted you,” Jeonghan said, turning on the radio to some Christmas station. 

“And I should have doubted you from the beginning,” Jihoon returned with a grin. 

“Okay, guess who's not getting hot cocoa.”

“You couldn’t keep me from the cocoa if you tried.”

The two drove home, bickering playfully both knowing nothing would come from it. It’s not as if he would try, anyway. 

When they arrived home, after the tree was set in its stand (“Is it straight, Jeonghan?” “Nothing in this house is straight, Jihoonie.” “Jeonghan, I swear to god-”) and cold noses were kissed warm, Jeonghan went to make the promised cocoa while Jihoon was tasked with digging out and detangling all of the Christmas decorations. 

“Why do I always get stuck with this job?” Jihoon asked, pulling a large wad of lights out of a box.

“Because you’re the youngest,” Jeonghan called from the kitchen.

“I’m sick of the age hierarchy in this society,” Jihoon mumbled, getting to work. The lights were seriously tangled. Why don’t they wrap them around something when they put them back in storage so they can prevent this in the future? Oh right, because they’re lazy. 

“Hey, youngest may get all the dirty tasks but they also get all the perks.” Jeonghan came back from the kitchen with two large mugs, handing one to Jihoon and sitting down to dig out the tinsel.

“What do you mean?” Jihoon gave him a confused look.

“Take decorating the tree for example.” Jeonghan waved a hand at their monster of a tree. “Youngest detangles the lights, but they also get to put the star on the top. Or angel, or Kermit the Frog Pez dispenser. When I was a kid, I put the star on the top of the tree until my little sister came along.”

“Huh.”

“What?” Jeonghan accused. 

Jihoon shrugged. “Never thought of it that way. I’ve always either come home to a decorated tree or did it alone. Plus, I don’t have any siblings so I’ve never had that youngest tradition.”

Jeonghan dropped his arms, sending bits of tinsel flying. “I forget how sad your house was growing up.”

Jihoon shrugged again. “I didn’t realize it was weird or bad until I started hearing about other people’s holidays. Which wasn’t until I was, like, 17.”

“That makes it more sad.” Jeonghan insisted. 

“I think I’d rather not know what I’m missing, honestly. Ah HA!” Jihoon shouted, finally managing to detangle the one giant knot holding the lights in a bundle. He stood up, letting the lights drag in a long line and headed over to the tree. After some finagling to find the proper end, he started winding the lights around the tree, circling around because god knows his arms aren’t nearly a third of the circumference. 

Jeonghan followed behind with his tinsel, allowing the subject to drop. For a minute there was a silence that wasn’t the most comfortable but wasn’t suffocating enough to break. Until Jihoon stopped. 

“What’s up?” Jeonghan asked. They still had a good foot of tree to go. 

“I told you to get a shorter fucking tree.”

It was then that Jeonghan realized exactly why Jihoon had stopped wrapping the lights around the tree. It wasn’t by choice, but out of necessity. Even on his tippy-toes with his arms stretched straight up, Jihoon could only reach to about 6 feet high. Their tree was some 7 foot and a bit, proving to be too tall for Jihoon to reach the top. (Jeonghan probably couldn’t reach the top either but he didn’t need to.)

“Oh.” Jeonghan held back a laugh. 

“Shut the fuck up right now.” Jihoon dropped the lights.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jeonghan panicked. “I’m not making fun of you!”

“I’m getting a chair, fuckhead.”

Jeonghan ran after him and all but picked him up in a hug. “I’m not making fun of you so stop calling me names.” 

Jihoon grumbled, looking like a disgruntled cat in a child's embrace. 

“Also, a chair would not help in this situation.”

“Explain.”

“You kinda have to move around a tree to decorate it. If you stand on a chair, you only have access to one side, and it would be a pain to move it every time you did a circle,” Jeonghan explained amiably. 

“I can pass it to you on the other side.”

“I can’t reach the top either.”

Jihoon politely removed himself from Jeonghan’s arms. “Then what do you propose we do?”

At Jeonghan’s grin, Jihoon immediately started backing away. “Don’t you dare.”

“C’mon, Jihoonie,” Jeonghan whined. “It’s the most efficient way.”

“No.” Jihoon backed behind the dining table.

“You’re lighter than me,” Jeonghan argued, following Jihoon as he ran away. 

“And I’m stronger than you,” Jihoon threw back. 

“Come on,” Jeonghan stopped stalking him in an attempt to gain the threatened animal’s trust. “It’ll be just like you’re a little kid getting to put the star on the top.”

“When I was a little kid, I climbed on chairs.”

“Jihoonie.” Jeonghan was pouting at this point. “Don’t you want to experience Christmas properly? Like a real person with real people who really care about you.”

Jihoon looked at him a long time with the wary expression he always wore when he was contemplating something he was too proud to try. 

“Fine,” he relented. “If you tickle me or grope me I will bite you.”

“Is that a promise?” Jeonghan grinned. 

“Okay, you know what? I changed my mind. You have fun decorating the tree all by your self, I’m going to bed.” 

“Nooo. Jihoonieeee.” Jeonghan caught him around the middle. “I was just joking, promise. No tickling or groping. Scout’s honor,” he added after a skeptical look from his boyfriend. 

Jihoon sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

Jeonghan wasted no time in lifting his adorable, angry boyfriend in the air, earning a squawk for his efforts. 

“You are enjoying this way too much,” Jihoon said as he picked the lights back up. Jeonghan circled around the tree with him in his arms, grinning all the while. 

“You never let me pick me up.”

“I don’t see why you’d want to,” Jihoon muttered as he placed the end of the string near the top, waiting for later when they plug the star in. “Okay, I’m done. Put me down now.”

“Nope!” Jeonghan replied cheerily. 

“What.”

“We still have tinsel.” Jeonghan was practically singing his words, badly disguising his joy. “And the ornaments. And the star.”

“I’m going to kill you.” Jeonghan just held him tighter. “I swear to god,” Jihoon muttered, grabbing at the tinsel still wrapped around the tree. “You have to put me down for most of the ornaments unless you want to start from the top.”

“I think my arms would fall off,” Jeonghan said good-naturedly.

Jihoon would never, ever, ever admit it, but he actually thoroughly enjoyed being in Jeonghan’s arms. Not necessarily like this, held straight up and down like a suspended pencil dive, but he couldn’t deny the warm feeling he got when Jeonghan’s hands rested on his sides or stomach. After Jeonghan gently set him back on the floor, he didn’t even glare for theatrics, too busy doing a terrible job at fighting off a blush.

They worked at hanging the ornaments, Jeonghan telling little stories about the old craft decorations his parents had let him take when he moved out; He talked about who made them and how they came to be. There was a little paper candy cane with yarn looped at the top that his sister made when she was in kindergarten. There was a lumpy clay snowman from Jeonghan’s second-grade class that said “Worlb’s Best Dad.”

“I messed up,” he explained laughing. 

It made Jihoon’s heart ache a little for his lack of cute childhood memories, but mostly he just wanted to make new heartfelt memories and Christmas traditions with the boy in front of him. With the multi-colored lights dancing across his laughing face, Jihoon felt like he couldn’t breathe, he was simply so beautiful. 

“You okay, Jihoonie?”

Jihoon didn’t bother looking away. “Never been better,” he responded, a small smile slowly growing. 

“Why are you staring at me? Do I have whipped cream on my face?” Jeonghan jokes.

“No,” Jihoon’s smile widened. “I just like looking at you.”

“Ahh.” A small blush betrayed Jeonghan’s sly smile. “My sunflower is back.”

“He never left.”

“I didn’t see him when you were talking shit about Totoro,” Jeonghan shot back, teasing. 

Jihoon laughed. “You have to admit, it’s a bit too large to be convenient.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s true,” Jeonghan relented. “But you can’t deny that it doesn't look amazing!”

The tree still needed its star as well as the top half of the tree decorated, but Jeonghan was right. It’s 7 and something feet was impressive with their high ceilings, and the red, blue and green lights were pared well with the gold tinsel. Jihoon always liked the look of a Christmas tree, but this was the first time it meant more. 

“You ready to get the top?” Jihoon asked. 

“You’re not even going to complain?”

Jihoon shrugged. “No point, is there?”

Jeonghan smiled brightly before scooping him up with a little more enthusiasm than Jihoon would have liked. Jeonghan was not the type of person you looked at thought, “Yeah, that guy could definitely hold me in the air for an extended period of time.” Usually people thought something closer to “I’m pretty sure if I accidentally sat on his arm, it would break.”

“Please do not drop me,” Jihoon pleaded weakly. 

Jeonghan held tighter, taking care as he neared the tree. “I would never.”

Jihoon didn’t like his legs dangling, but he liked Jeonghan’s head in his shoulder, debating quietly about which bauble should go where. When Jihoon got to the star, he could feel Jeonghan vibrating with excitement. 

“You are way too into this.”

Jeonghan bounced a little. “But it’s Chriiiiismaaaas.”

“It’s December 10th.”

Jeonghan pinched his side. 

“Hey! You promised not to take advantage of this!”

“I promised not to tickle or grope,” Jeonghan pointed out. “Nothing was said about pinching.”

“I hate you.”

“Liar.”

Jihoon sighed before reaching to the full extent of his arm’s length and placing the star at the very top of the very tall tree. He plugged it in and the star lit up. Jeonghan hefted him higher suddenly, and the star shined golden in right in his face - not blindingly, but brightly enough to catch his attention and breath for just a moment.

Now, it was Jeonghan’s turn to stare at the stunning looks of his boyfriend. Jihoon was always a bit pale - a casualty of staying inside almost constantly - but the golden glow of the star accentuated the color Jihoon did have. It reflected in his eyes almost cartoonishly and Jeonghan had never been more in love. 

“I wish I had a camera,” he said softly.

Jihoon’s eyes slowly came to rest on Jeonghan’s. “You can’t even operate one.”

“I can operate a phone camera,” Jeonghan argued.

“Doesn’t count.” Jihoon turned around in his arms, still staring with shining eyes.

“Everything counts,” Jeonghan said, barely paying attention to the conversation anymore.

Jihoon arms, previously holding Jeonghan’s biceps, moved up to wrap behind his head. “All’s fair in love and war?” He asked.

“Exactly,” Jeonghan breathed before lurching forward to catch Jihoon’s lips in his own. 

Jihoon categorizes kisses into three different types. First is a lazy kiss: the kind where you take your time and usually occurs late at night or early in the morning when you’re too tired to do anything more. On the opposite end, there’s a heated kiss. This is full of fire and need and lust; where you’re impatient and simply need more. This was the third kind: neither heated nor lazy. Not complacent nor impatient. It wasn’t particularly slow, but it wasn’t fast either. It was loving and explorative and absolutely wonderful. 

At the end of it, Jeonghan asked: “Are you having a nice Christmas?”

To which Jihoon replied, snarkily “It’s still only December 10th.”

Jeonghan laughed and made secret plans to buy some mistletoe tomorrow while Jihoon was in class. He was going to milk as many of these moments out of the holidays as he could, and no force on heaven or earth could stop him.

**Author's Note:**

> my first ever published fic wow!
> 
> (feedback is definitely appreciated)


End file.
